Case report: middle-aged woman from Ghana with unsteady gait and enlarging cerebellar mass

Medicine (Baltimore). 2017 Nov;96(45):e8516. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000008516.

Abstract

Rationale: Neurosarcoidosis (NS) is an uncommon manifestation of systemic sarcoidosis, with a propensity for middle-agedwomen. Often discovered only at autopsy, rates of neurologic involvement (5%-10%) reported in the literature underscore a lack of sensitivity and specificity in current diagnostic methods.

Patient concerns: Herein, we describe a 53-year-old woman who presented with gait imbalance and distal extremity muscular weakness. She was known to harbor a brain mass (4 years in duration) that was monitored and recently seemed to enlarge.

Diagnosis: A subsequent brain biopsy showed necrotizing granulomatous inflammation suggestive of NS. However, no clinical or radiologic evidence of activity was found in other organs.

Interventions and outcomes: Ultimately, endo and transbronchial biopsies were performed, providing histologic confirmation of systemic sarcoidosis.

Lessons: This approach is advised in all instances of suspected NS where systemic involvement is in question.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Central Nervous System Diseases / complications*
  • Central Nervous System Diseases / diagnosis*
  • Female
  • Gait Disorders, Neurologic / etiology*
  • Ghana
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Sarcoidosis / complications*
  • Sarcoidosis / diagnosis*

Supplementary concepts

  • Neurosarcoidosis